Initial is just what I wanted!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Small, nice quality, all adapters included and rechargeable battery.

Cons: Sound quality could be better.

The Bottom Line: 
A solid portable dvd player that is easy to afford. It is very easy to use and plays everything you throw at it.

Author's Review
My use of the Initial 1731:

About a year ago I decided to buy a portable dvd player and being the Initial was cheap, I jumped on it. I have used the portable dvd player almost every day and have played over 500 videos through it. I work night shift and keep the player on sometimes 6 straight.

The Initial 1731:


The Initial 1731 is a compact 7 inch TFT wide screen portable dvd player and takes up very little space. There are outputs for home television use and the unit works on home or car voltage. This little player also comes with a credit card size remote that has all the features of a regular size one. All adapters are included(home adapter, car, and for your home television) and a somewhat bulky rechargeable battery that lasts about 3 hours when fully charged and has a charger you attach to the battery. DVD's, vcd's, svcd's, mp3's, cd's, mpeg, jpeg's, and even kodak picture CD work great on the Initial. The menu for mp3's is somewhat hard to figure out, but they work great when playing. With the initial being so small the speakers are also small, which makes sound quality a little below average. There are setting for different sound effects such as hall or stadium, but I found the standard out of the box sound is all you need. If you try to mess with the sound much it starts to sound worse. The antiskip works great and to this day I can say, I never skipped a disk. Also, the picture can be adjusted depending on what type of movie your watching, from tiny to full screen. I really like the picture quality and the colors are just how they should look. Remember this is a $200 portable and don't expect a high definition picture on a budget player. On some text on screen, the words are hard to read, but you have the realize this is a 7 inch screen. Even at a angle you are able to view the picture, which is nice for multiple people watching. The zoom works great and you can move it around to find exactly what you want to see close up. On the back of the Initial there is a input/output jack, so you can use the Initial on your television or use the player as a monitor.
Over hours of use I have never had a heating up problem and I have used the Initial for 5+ hours with just enough time to change the disc in between. Overall this is a cheap, reliable, and easy to find portable dvd player.


I am still delighted with the Initial for ease of use and quality, not to mention price. For anyone wanting a reliable portable dvd player and not have to break the old wallet, this is a the player for you. If your a fan of vcd's or svcd's this player plays them all. I recently had a backup disk off my computer mixed in with my dvd's. I placed the disk in the Initial and I was amazed it played a lot of different things on the disk. In almost a year of owning the Initial I have not found a single disk that would not play correctly. I did have one pixel burn out in the screen, which could have been from my abuse or just a thing that happens. Even with the pixel out, the spot is about the size of a pencil tip and a normal person would think it is a piece of dust on the screen. Also, with the recent price drops the Initial is becoming a excellent value. Now I can't wait for my trip to Europe to have some entertainment in the air. :)

Update 1/2006:

I have used the Initial DVD player now for 2+ years with no problems. Also, a person I work with bought the same model and has used it for 1 1/2 years with no problems and this is using it 5 days a week and running about 3 full movies or multiple television shows through it each day. I still feel the Initial is a good quality portable DVD player, that is affordable.

I recently decided I wanted a bigger screen, so I bought a 8.4 inch Kawasaki DVD player and I run into problems with the new player reading some DVD's and CD's, also the new player freezes in places and doesn't play mpeg's. So, I went out and bought straight from China, a 8.4" DVD player that is supposed to play every media imaginable, which includes the Divx and television, my Initial didn't do this. To be honest the last 2 DVD players have been a waste. The cheap one I bought from China freezes and television reception is so bad I wouldn't even watch it. I do like the picture quality better on the Kawasaki, but it also has disc reading problems at times and required me to program with a special code to get DVD-R/SVCD/VCD to work and the Initial worked straight out of the box. I see the Initals on sale everywhere now and for around $120, I feel it is well worth it and is so compact and durable, it makes a great portable player for everyday use.

~rotwiler~

Specifications:

7-inch color TFT
Composite video output for best quality picture
S-video output for good picture quality
Dolby Digital/DTS surround sound output -- coaxial
Analog stereo output
Built-in stereo speakers
Stereo headphone output
Playback zoom (2x/4x)
Fast forward/reverse play (2x/4x/6x/8x)
Slow forward/reverse play (2x/4x/8x)
Parental lock for compatible discs
Built-in anti-shock system
Remote control
Rechargeable lithium battery provides power for approximately 3 hours when fully charged
Car DC Cigarette Lighter Adapter
7.5"L x 5.6"W x 1.5"H
Weighs approximately 1.75 pounds